inspiring words

It all started with “Grace”. I love that word. When I started working here almost 2 years ago I knew I needed a “Grace” stone in my life. It was my mother’s middle name and is now my daughter’s middle name and the word always just makes me smile. One day a green glass “Grace” stone came along that was oblong like a jellybean instead of round like it should have been. I knew we couldn’t sell it to our customers and there was no way I was throwing it away so it found it’s way to my desk. And so my collection began…

Having known myself for almost 37 years I can safely say that I am a sentimental person. I see the “deeper” meaning in almost anything, song lyrics, greeting cards, random billboards, they are all speaking to me. Even if the message isn’t aimed right at me I will figure out who it is for and make sure they too feel the power of the universe at work.

When I come across imperfect products I just can’t cast them aside like something from the “Land of Misfit Toys”. Instead, I save them and add them to the ceramic, sand-filled tray on my desk. There is the “Imagine” stone which didn’t get painted with any black ink so it has a hazy whitewash look to it which makes me think of clouds and daydreaming. I have a “Passion” rock which is printed with pink ink and reminds me of my aunt who is battling breast cancer. There are the “Teach” glass stones that melted together during processing to form a figure 8 shape, that tell me you need both a teacher and a student to make the circle complete.

Oh don’t get me wrong there are the stones that just make me laugh too. The double sided rock with “real” on one side and “fabulous” on the other (no, they weren’t misprinted this was an actual custom order) I like the “fabulous” side facing me as a daily affirmation to my greatness (insert laughter here). “You Rock!” is also a pick-me-up on a not so great day. There is the “Hoop” stone which should have been “Hope” but just had a bad day. The two-sided “Yes” or “No” token that I always keep on “Yes” unless the boss asks me to do some cleaning around the office and I am quick to flip it to the “No”. The “No Regrets” custom stone reminds me that I have made the right choices in my life and am right where I should be, even when I do have to clean up around here because the “No” token didn’t work…

Many pieces of my collection just have strong meaning to me, “Harmony”, “Thankful”, “Live”, “Purpose”, “Love”, “Soar”, & “Soul” each give me pause on a daily basis to remember why I’m here and what I’m working towards. I have a few hearts in the group, one with a broken off bottom tip but when you set it in the sand it looks whole once again. There is the Good Dog Blessing Coin that I put on too large of a jump ring and my puppy was able to chew while it hung around his neck, he is such a good dog.

Finally, I have to tell you about the Star. It was from a custom order and it is a blue glass stone with a large white star engraved on it. A man ordered 150 of them for his friend’s memorial service. Two weeks after receiving them the customer called back and ordered 200 more thanking me for my help with his original order and saying “everyone at the service loved them and they were the perfect tribute to my friend.” Knowing our tokens and stones are helping create moments like that are why I love my collection so much.

So I ask you to take a moment and ask yourself, what should be on your desk?